Transcript Document

Embedded Library
Embedded Library
This direction emphasizes • the need to get outside the walls of the library
• the need to integrate ourselves into planning and
operations at every level of the university
It includes -
• strategic relationship building
• integrating our resources into other campus systems at
point of need
• increasing the perception of librarians as co-teachers &
co-researchers.
Embedded Library
Mash-up
Getting the library out of the physical library
• Expand outreach and partnership
• Expand the the Libraries' sphere of influence through
partnerships with other groups
• More integrated role into the research of MUN
• Integration with larger campus information environment
• Push to the researchers
• Push ourselves out.
Do we need to do this on a per discipline basis?
Develop a team oriented approach vs. functional approach
Embedded Library
Mash-up
Information literacy and library instruction:
• Supporting teaching
• Focus on information literacy outcomes
• Outcomes of information literacy
• Shift from mechanics to evaluation
• Getting out there in teaching
• Set research projects that are tasked to groups
• In light of shifting technology, new digital initiatives and
projects
• Do we have to change how we approach info literacy and
LI?
Do we need to do this on a per discipline basis?
Develop a team oriented approach vs. functional approach
Embedded Library
Mash-up
Areas for collaboration include
• conducting research with librarians from other locations
• sponsoring exhibits with collections from other libraries (for
example, it would be great to borrow part of Grenfell's
graphic novel collection for a short period and display here)
• undertaking projects with the assistance of another unit (ex.
working with the Digital Media Centre to produce video
tutorials)
• MORE?
Embedded Library
Mash-up
Keeping pace with changes in the Academic fields
• Continuing to provide services to students and faculty in
ways that compliment their own research and teaching
methodologies
• Instruction, liaison, stakeholder planning, teaching & liaison
Balancing the interest of libraries and Academics:
• Technology in academia – how its used, and how we support
it.
• old liaison model focuses on collection development; new
model focuses onservices to research teams
Embedded Library
Embedded Library
Definition
Examples
Discussion
Are Memorial University Libraries embedded?
Have they been embedded?
Can they be collaborating partners?
Action
Embedded Library
Embedded librarianship
"current trend where librarians and information professionals
take their services out of the library building and embed
themselves into academic departments, which in turn facilitates
collaboration with faculty."
• embedded librarians can teach more faculty and students
how to use library collections and services
• liaise between academic departments and the library
• sit in during classes and faculty meetings
• set up help desks in campus buildings
• offer Internet chat reference services
• use other technologies to develop new strategies
Embedded librarianship in colleges and universities, http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/19886
Embedded Library
Examples
• chat reference
• satellite reference: Rove, Roam, Gypsy, "On Site"
• librarian "records" in the catalogue
• librarian contact added to course syllabus
• library contact in library created course webpages
• "informationists" embedded in various departments to
work with researchers on their turf
• librarian office hours in different undergraduate
departments
• Field Librarian Program [U. Michigan Ann Arbor, 2007]
• circulate librarian
• embed in Course Management System
• embed in distance courses
• travel with field courses
Embedded Library
Literature Survey
Embedded Librarian blog [David Shumaker]
• moving librarians out of libraries, both physically and
organizationally is growing trend
• can be of great value to the organization;
• can be very rewarding to the librarian — if done well
• "the embedded librarian brings ... unique set of skills and
modes of thought that no other member of the team is
likely to provide. These skills and approaches are related
to the librarian's understanding of the information
dimensions of the team's work but transcend traditional
library services."
Embedded Library
Embedded Librarian blog Return on Investment of Embedded Librarianship
• associated improved student performance with the
engagement of an embedded librarian
• faculty member observed that students who had worked with
an embedded librarian in their first year retained information
literacy skills later in their academic career
• literature contains anecdotes attributing improved student
work and increased use of library resources to the impact of
embedded librarians
• formal assessments of the impacts and response to
embedded information literacy instruction initiatives,
generally find positive impacts on student attitudes toward
the library, increased library use, and improvements in
student performance.
Embedded Library
Embedded Librarian blog [ROI cont'd]
Embedded librarianship offers an effective alternative for many
organizations
• librarians gain the knowledge of information users’ needs
that enables them to be effective providers of the most
important information.
• They gain the access and collaboration that enable them to
spot information needs that may be not be articulated.
• In educational settings especially, they gain involvement
in the instructional process that makes information literacy
relevant and helps students to retain and use their new
information literacy skills
Embedded Library
Embedded Librarian blog [cont'd]
? Information Concierge
? embedded librarian as partner or collaborator, and not as
service provider
? resolved to expunge “service” from my vocabulary when it
comes to embedded librarians
? “embedded librarian” was copied from the Gulf War notion
of “embedded reporters” - the embedded reporter in a
combat unit is there only as an observer, not a participant.
Nobody expects her/him to pick up a weapon and start
shooting! ? Not so the embedded librarian — we’re there to
pitch in and contribute to the team’s goals and objectives.
The embedded librarian who is only a bystander won’t be
embedded for long!
Embedded Library?
Embedded Librarian blog [cont'd]
? Collaborative relationship not same as a Transactional
relationship
Requires resources ? Space
• office space co-located with group they work with, and
• others have speculated about “virtual embedding,” in
which informationist isn’t co-located
? Inclusion in group communications
? Invitations to meetings
? Senior management sponsorship
? Feedback
Embedded Library
Return on Investment [Benefits]
- strong relationships with customers
- highly sophisticated [value-added] services
- move from service to partnerships
- "overhear conversations that lead ... to new workshops"
BUT
- demand for traditional information services did not go away
Embedded Library?
Embedded Librarian blog [cont'd]
Pitfalls
1. Failing to allocate adequate funding and staff resources to
both ongoing library services and to the new embedded
services
2. inadequate attention to workload leveling
3. overlooking threats to library staff cohesion
Embedded Library?
em·bed (m-bd) also im·bed (m-)
1. To fix firmly in a surrounding mass: embed a post in
concrete; fossils embedded in shale.
2. To enclose snugly or firmly.
3. To cause to be an integral part of a surrounding whole: "a
minor accuracy embedded in a larger untruth" (Ian Jack).
4. To assign (a journalist) to travel with a military unit during
an armed conflict.
5. Biology To enclose (a specimen) in a supporting material
before sectioning for microscopic examination.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Embedded Library ?
ACRL 2010 top ten
Increased collaboration will expand the role of the library within
the institution and beyond.
Collaboration efforts will continue to diversify:
• collaborating with faculty to integrate library resources into
the curriculum
• seek out information literacy instruction as an embedded
librarian
• working with scholars to provide access to their data sets,
project notes, papers, etc. in virtual research environments
and digital repositories
Embedded Library ?
ACRL 2010 top ten [cont'd]
• collaborating with information technology experts to develop online
tutorials and user-friendly interfaces to local digital collections
• collaborating with student support services to provide integrated
services to students
• collaborating with librarians at other institutions to improve open
source software, share resources, purchase materials, and
preserve collections
ACRL Research Planning and Review Committee. 2010 top ten trends in academic
libraries, College & Research Libraries News vol. 71 no. 6 286-292.
Embedded Library
Embedded Library
Definition
Examples
Discussion
Are Memorial University Libraries embedded?
Have they been embedded?
Can they be collaborating partners?
Action?